Tag Archives: Heisman Trophy

Jameis Winston adds the Heisman Trophy to the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award (featured above) with a convincing tally of 668 first place votes.

By Charles Glover, Jr.

The Heisman Trophy was awarded to red-shirt freshman Jameis Winston Saturday night in a decisive victory. Once the investigation into his involvement in a sexual assault case was ended last week, the Florida State Seminoles quarterback entered Saturday as the favorite to win the award. Winston, 19, becomes the youngest Heisman Trophy winner, a designation formerly held by fellow finalist and last year’s winner, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.

The final tally of votes for the award saw Jameis Winston win the Heisman in a landslide with a total of 2,205 points which included 668 first place ballots. Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron placed second with 704 points, with Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch totaling 558 votes. Andre Williams of Boston College (470), Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M (421), and Tre Mason of Auburn (404) rounded out the ballot. Winston took to the podium and graciously thanked “God for allowing this dream to come true.” Winston also continued to thank his family and Florida State teammates and coaching staff for instilling the value of “trusting in the process” and their continued support. His parents looked on proudly as Winston addressed the gathering.

Winston adds the Heisman Trophy to the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and Davey O’Brien Award as the top quarterback in the nation. He also becomes the third Seminoles quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy. Charlie Ward (1993) and Chris Weinke (1999) won the Heisman Trophy and led their team to the college football National Championship in the same season they won the award. Winston will try to keep that tradition alive as the Florida State Seminoles will face the Auburn Tigers for the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship on January 6, 2014 to conclude the college football season. He will celebrate his 20th birthday on the day of the BCS Championship.–OnPointPress.net.

Andrew Wiggins (l) and Jabari Parker (r) are the two highest -ranked prospects for the 2013-14 NBA draft if they declare themselves eligible for the next NBA season.

By Charles Glover, Jr.

The popularity of the National Football League (NFL) has grown over the past twenty years, while the National Basketball Association (NBA) has seen peaks and valleys in its television interest, fan loyalty and attendance. The NFL has been able to generate greater parity and excitement for its teams in more small market cities compared to the NBA equivalent because star players from college football teams are guaranteed to go to the NFL teams that performed the worst in the previous season but the opposite is true in the NBA.

The NFL draft model ensures that the team with the worst record in the league will receive the first pick. There is also a provision that precludes a team from receiving that coveted first pick in consecutive years. On the other hand, the NBA has a draft lottery that gives a weighted chance at the first pick in the draft according to the records of the teams that did not make the playoffs. The team with the worst record has, at best, a twenty-five percent chance at procuring the top choice in the draft. The small market teams in the NBA would greatly benefit from the NFL draft model as it would give them a better chance to land big name players from college. This would then grow their fan bases.

The NFL has seen small-market teams with terrible seasons rebound quickly with the selection of the right players in the draft. In conjunction with other moves in free agency, this results in quick improvements. The Carolina Panthers drafted Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton with the first pick in the 2011 draft and the team is having its best success in several seasons this year. The Indianapolis Colts drafted second generation NFL quarterback Andrew Luck first overall in 2012 and made the playoffs the very next season. These players were big names in college and helped create excitement for the fans of their respective teams while improving the performance of those teams as well.

The New Orleans franchise drafted Anthony Davis with the #1 overall pick in the 2011-12 NBA draft.

Conversely, in the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the draft lottery for the third time in ten seasons and picked Anthony Bennett first overall last season. The New Orleans Pelicans (Hornets at the time) selected Anthony Davis with the first pick in the 2011-12 draft. Those teams have yet to see their teams improve to playoff material, yet but many believe that those teams have bright futures. The challenge for the NBA is to have small market teams land stars that can help generate widespread interest which would eventually translate to more money for those franchises.

The Oklahoma City Thunder drafted Kevin Durant (l) and Russell Westbrook (r) in consecutive seasons, moves that helped turn their franchise into perennial title contenders.

The Oklahoma City Thunder organization is the most referenced small market team, loaded with young stars through the draft in the NBA. The challenge for other NBA teams is to land young exciting players that become top-tier talent that can eventually transform a team to a title contender. Small market teams in the NBA have an additional challenge of retaining young stars they initially draft. Some of the biggest stars in the NBA change teams in pursuit of a championship. Parity in the NBA is difficult because many small market teams struggle in putting together consistent winning teams while retaining their drafted stars.

Troy Polumalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers is one of many stars from small market teams, on and off the field, for the NFL.

The other challenge is few small market teams draft big name stars. The Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Bobcats, and Toronto Raptors stand out as teams that are in small markets, have struggled on the court, and have had a difficult time landing stars that can help their teams become playoff contenders. The NFL has big name stars in many small markets, which helps keep interest for those teams, even if they struggle with those stars on their team. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers’ quarterback), Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings’ running back), Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers’ quarterback), and Troy Polamalu (Pittsburgh Steelers’ safety) are just a handful of NFL stars from small market cities that are regularly featured in commercials. All of these players were also drafted by their current team.

The NBA would have a better chance of achieving the parity it desires if the rules in the NBA draft are changed to decide the order of the draft, based on records. A provision that would help guard against teams intentionally losing games to get the best draft pick is to prevent teams from having the top three picks in consecutive seasons. The potential for landing top-tier talent will always be alluring through the draft because of the potential to have a young star transform a franchise to a winner. The potential draft class for the NBA includes two of the most hyped freshmen in college basketball in years: Andrew Wiggins (Kansas) and Jabari Parker (Duke). It would be phenomenal for the NBA if the best player in the draft had a chance to transform the worst team in the NBA into an exciting championship winner.–OnPointPress.net.